★　増田貴久　★君のこと　あきれるほど好きになった★

Tuesday, July 20

[in the blink of an eye]

its one year and 21 days since i started working.

my first company

the first colleagues i got to know

my first boss, my first work station, my first payslip.

somehow i thought this was gonna be a place i will stay for long

but then again nothing's ever for sure

i found myself questioning the future, the wants

mixed feelings, what should i be feeling right now

relieved? excited? scared? sad?

well, i do know that every decision made truly changes your life

i am glad i was here and it left something in my life

gonna miss my great colleagues :)

|～キア～| a.simple.girl.in.this.complicated.world
7/20/2010 01:04:00 am

Tuesday, November 24

[Saranghaeyo ihanmadi cham johun mal~]

"If you can't forget, I can't go back" -- Jeremy

this has to be one of the most 经典 scenes I've ever seen for a while
i have watched this at least 10 times
and the song is stuck in my head

jeremy's change in expression as he got off the bus is what makes me saddest
actually come to think of it, Jeremy was the first person to notice Minyu
not shin woo, not tae kyung
if you remember where they all first met :)

and if you are lost, you just have to watch this drama now :)
its called You're Beautiful
confirm going to be hot in Singapore soon, if its not already :)
& F.T Island rocks!
Seoul'd out concert, anyone? :)

|～キア～| a.simple.girl.in.this.complicated.world
11/24/2009 12:28:00 am

Sunday, October 25

[好久不见！]

i mean very long never update.
maa well, i am very lazy as you all know.

a summary of my 2 months worth of absence:
- wake up
- go to work, lunch, back to work
- home, pet society, restaurant city, country story, cafe world
- sleep
- repeat above for 5 times before weekend comes
- ate lots of steamboat and other good food
- bought a 1TB Samsung Story external HD for my videos! :)
- finished yamapi's buzzer beat
- finished lady castle by yoon eun hye
- bought lotsa clothes
- MAF with s61 besties
- BBS treats
- and many many more things :)

just came back from my orientation module
which was a trip to OBS for 2 days 1 night
have been looking forward to it cos i had great memories when i first went
and since it was a 2D1N course, i was expecting it to be easier than what i have done
lol.

the main objective of this module was to inculcate our organization shared values
and the program started with the usual ice breaking games
next up was some simple kayaking skills
which i already know, so was quite fun for me.
but the malu thing is my converse track shoes cui-ed once i stepped into the water
hahaa, so everyone saw the sole of my shoes floating on the water :p
did some capsizing drills also
i hate this part of kayaking, cos i just find it very hard to come onto the kayak again
so i am extra careful not to capsize :D

we did jetty jump after that.
my first time doing it! although i should have done it on my previous trip
due to some delaying that time, our group didn't have the chance to do jetty jump
so i am quite excited :D
the jump off point is a plank extended from the jetty
and you are supposed to walk till the end, take one step and leap off
i was quite scared due to the height of the plank & that it somehow looks weak
haha, but afterall everyone just jumped with a scream :)
its an unforgettable experience :)
and the sea water was really damn salty.

then we had dinner and did some story acting
after which we were given a choice for our next activity
either a solo night walk or a group activity which involves crawling in a tunnel
i chose the solo walk cos its been something i wanted to try :)
it was a very exciting experience & i shall not elaborate
wait till you have the chance to try it huh :)

ended the night feeling damn tired & day 2 was a complete mystery
only found out after breakfast on the 2nd day
that we are going for an expedition :)
split into 2 groups and we went for sea activity
while the other group went for land activity & we swopped after we were done
the sea expedition was a kayak to a small island called pulau ketam and back
kayaking is one of the sport i can finish without feeling drained out
haha, cos it requires more arm strength than stamina :)

then when we reached shore, we are supposed to look for this place called
alpine rescue on pulau ubin, which we were given a grid reference
the place was easy to find but unexpectedly
there was a task to complete at the location.
the alpine rescue is made up of 6 platforms linked together by logs
we started at platform 3 and was supposed to go to all platforms
in order to get clues about how to exit the structure
our team of 20 can split into sub groups to travel across the structure
a minimum of 2 must move at the same time
and be connected by touching or equipment at all times
each platform must have a minimum of 10 people before we can get the clue
it was tedious to play this under the hot sun but it was very intellectual
and i enjoyed it.
in the end we solved the clues and found the exit but exceeded by 8 minutes xD

all in all, i think i love OBS trainings alot.
its all about challenging you to step out of your comfort zone
and to explore the unknowns and the fears
i observed that the people in my OBS group this time differs alot from my previous trip
everyone was quick to decide, to do and to get over with the task
there was little to no hesitation once we decide to do something
even though we are scared but i guess we all know its afterall safe
and its just up to us whether we want to let go for just once
and see how far we can really stretch ourselves.
for most, its really that extra step for us to discover that
fear often blinds us but if we try and succeed
we own an experience that is ours forever :)
if you tried and you really can't, at least you tried.

if given a chance, i will definitely go back again! :)

digged out this photo of my OBS group in 2002

my OBS group in 2009 :)

saturday was volunteer time for me
and to go hunt for my new pair of sport shoes :)
managed to get an asics pair at $99 and went jogging today!
very comfortable :)
realise that converse doesn't sell sports shoes anymore, so sad.
i actually liked my old pair alot.

annnnd its monday again.
hope my entry this time round is long enough :)
ja ne~!

|～キア～| a.simple.girl.in.this.complicated.world
10/25/2009 09:29:00 pm

Tuesday, September 29

[my goodness. its close to 2 months]

has been neglected for too long.
i will be back soon.
this weekend? hehe :)

|～キア～| a.simple.girl.in.this.complicated.world
9/29/2009 10:43:00 pm

Thursday, August 6

[《海上花开》 -- 伊人]

《海上花开》 -- 伊人

“离别意味着新的重逢，而世间也有一种情感叫遗忘。”

“四月的爱情絮语：阳光弥散在世间的每一个角落，就像我对你的思念。
七月的爱情絮语：我们选对了空间，选对了彼此，却选错了一个相逢的时间。”

“爱上一个人，往往就是因为感觉到之前的他对我还不错。
最后才发现，那只不过是一种错觉，或者不能说是错觉，
而是自己在爱上一个人之前，为自己找寻的理由。”

“为什么要说对不起？也许并不是因为我追问了他的过往，
而是因为，我比较爱他。
爱人的那一个，总是处于弱势，总是要先说对不起。”

“原来一份不算圆满的爱情，它的保质期，并不会太长，
我们的怀念，也会因为时间的流逝而慢慢淡然，最后隐隐留在心头的，
只不过是对那段付出的不甘。”

简单的故事，笔者的描绘，再次勾起心中那份感动。
爱情是什么？是一时冲动的感受，还是错过以后永远的惋惜？
是坦然面对的好，还是一辈子不知道的好？
是心痛后的释怀让人坚强，还是平平淡淡的更为幸福？

是否我们永远看不见就在身旁的申贤仁
一味追求在心中那完美的苏启天。
我，
总会把票投给默默付出的第二男主角。

“他算不算我的初恋呢？如果算是，那我们的分离，也应该是一次失恋。
可那算是失恋吗？我们只不过在时间的长河中淡然了彼此。
也许，不敢承认那是失恋，是因为，我始终放不下一个不曾与我说过“分手”二字的初恋情人。”
最近，又不自觉地想起你，过得还好吧……
我很好。

“你说，有时候我们是不是舍弃身边的人而去追求离自己太远的幸福？”
:)

|～キア～| a.simple.girl.in.this.complicated.world
8/06/2009 11:27:00 pm

Monday, August 3

[on my want-list now]

- slide films and colour flash for hoody
- ~~more hydrosols!~~
- gym membership
- ~~that pretty pair of earrings! :)~~
- ~~a personalised mousepad~~
- ~~a handphone holder for my table~~
- a smiley face cushion *PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU SEE ONE!*

yup that's all.
looking forward to my next payday in 9 days!
WOOHOO.

|～キア～| a.simple.girl.in.this.complicated.world
8/03/2009 10:57:00 pm

Sunday, August 2

[its the weeeeeekend :)]

its been a long time since i played with quizzes :)

New! Get Free Daily Horoscopes from Kwiz.Biz

lalala, ONEW :DDD

saturday was spent great.
i had ala carte dim sum at gim tim restaurant!
the dim sum was very good and only $1.99 per plate :)
shopping at tampines one, i realise i am slowly turning into a size 16!
NOOO.
i need to start my gym sessions soon.
really, i'm going to sign up this week!

still on the scout for a nice cushion and mousepad.
going to start my counter duties this week.
wish me luck and may all who comes be friendly people :)

this is a short post.
ja ne~!

|～キア～| a.simple.girl.in.this.complicated.world
8/02/2009 01:33:00 am

Monday, July 6

[me and my working life]

its been a week plus since i started work
in case anyone doesn't know, haha.
i think i didn't really tell anyone
so unless you happen to ask me, you wouldn't have known, haha.
mah i won't be updating alot on work stuff here
maybe some here and there
but i might write work related posts in lj *grins*

i have alot more photos hanging around in my handphone
so here's some foodies that i am enjoying from japan :)
totally forgot about my baskin and robbins chocolate until i saw this photo.
banana choc pocky is still sitting in the plastic bag
i am saving it for a bad day :)
finished that pack of red bean and sesame thingy cos it expires very quickly
and that special nissin cup noodles too :)
yummy cheese curry!

dinner at coffeeshop last sunday before i started work
not much of a significance but i just wanted to eat good food, hee
the herbal chicken with fungus was good!
and so was the special tofu :)

monday was meeting up with shiyin for ajisen ramen :)
surprised her when i turned up in office wear, haha.
met up with BBS on thursday for a dinner in town
i really hate the CBD area, i can't find my way around
plus there's so much construction going on there, it just makes things harder
but soup spoon was worth it!
haha, the mushroom soup is GAO GAO one
damn shiok and also very filling :)
BBS all in working clothes, glad that we are all safely employed :)
hope everyone has a smooth career ahead!
(did i say something along that line before?
oh no, i am becoming senile...)
huijuan went back to work after we finished dinner at 10pm!
omg, even though i like her working shift, i don't like her working hours
must remember to take care!!

weekend is shopping time and slacking time.
shopped robinsons expo sales with my brother and sis
but nothing caught my eye.
proceeded to tampines one, i remembered i saw KOI cafe there before
but i couldn't find it anywhere
so due to my persistence to try out the much raved about bubble tea
we came all the way to amk centre for a cup of ice cream milk tea
a large cup cost me $4.30!
but it was good :))

sunday was shopping with my mom
you have no idea how much i spent since i came back from japan
i think i will do a collation when i am free
to calculate just how much stuff i have bought over the past month
haha, i know i definitely spent more than $500
this is crazy.
anyway, my mom is on a credit (debit) card addiction nowadays
so she signs for all my purchases
and make me pay her in cash afterward, haha
but that means i am buying on credit, which is good :)
i bought 2 new pants, 1 new shirt and 2 pairs of shoes yesterday :p
had manhattan fish market for dinner
and the j8 branch seems to be not so tasty as compared to the PS branch
is it just me? :p

bought some stuff like jugs and flask for my office space
i got a new pen holder, wanted yellow but there wasn't any
so i settled for bright green.
i strive to make a yellow workspace to keep my mood up the whole day!
also, there will be massu pictures going up soon
but i want to be low profile this few weeks, haha
so maybe next month bah, lol.
i have a mug with the teaspoon i bought in daiso harajuku
and supplies of milk tea at my table :)

i discovered a way to take pictures using my noisy handphone discreetly
well, actually i just found out where's the speaker, haha

my colleagues are a fun bunch of people
we play arcade after finishing our lunch :)
and they are damn good at the game, i suspect they frequent the arcade :)

my EDM foundations are here!
they are bigger than what i expected, only about $8 each
its very value for money
but i have yet to try the results, hope its suitable for me.
and i am still waiting for my garden of wisdom toner and moisturizer
i tell you, i am turning into a shopaholic.
this is bad.

mah, that's all.
ja ne~!

|～キア～| a.simple.girl.in.this.complicated.world
7/06/2009 11:59:00 pm

Sunday, June 28

[from my POV]

and now for photos from my handphone :)
will be considering whether i want post my golden half photos
expect lots of japan artistes, food and random what-nots :)

them playing munchkins and me watching prodai repeat on tv
haha.
yummy ramen in nagoya shopping street
and the nagoya tv tower :)

beancurd sushi we got after raiding the supermarket at 7pm
and also cheap croquettes
our hotel room in nagoya (don't be deceived, its SMALL!)
and random masuda textiles we saw while lost in nagoya :D

my beloved mcpork and mcshake :)
random sho on the quiz show, totally do not understand without subtitles
and yummy cheese curry noodles

on a subway, saw one of the MANYYY arashi ads around
random coke in instant noodle museum
masami's ad for JR lines
and i love onigiris with fried chicken, wahaha.

that's the manga museum
i said it should be called a library right, its even built like one
mr brain and smile banners on the streets

osaka-jo hall concert schedule
bishan, if you squint your eyes, you can see DBSK :)
yoshinoya with raw egg, hello singapore you can consider selling this too
and of course my favourite johnny's shop :)

the osaka glico man
NEWS Happy Bath Day series display (dammit i didn't buy the cologne mist)
NEWS new single display in random cd shop
and me with my remaining yen in osaka

me and my DELICIOUS BASKIN & ROBBINS MANGO SHAKE &
STRAWBERRY/BANANA ICE CREAM *drools*
hello singapore, we need baskin & robbins too
hiroka yuta AEON ad, maki and mizushima hiro's random drink ad
cooked salmon with mayo is <333

sho human size board :))
yaki pudding (inspired by my boss my hero, wanted to try for very long liao)
mango flavoured alcohol for drinking party!

peking duck sushi
preorder for tegomass new album and arashi new single
more arashi AU ads around, they are really popular in japan

pretty river near okayama korakuen
pretty river
me beside pretty river
and random yokohama fire engine
its not like the HUGE super ranger engine in RESCUE leh, haha

my burberry wallet
xinwei say tell them its a gift so they can wrap it nicely for me, haha
the level 3 plate i found when eating pasta buffet xDD
RUSS K shop at shibuya

triple cheese don on last night of tokyo
thanks for the treat :D
sorry i won't put 洗脚水 for your :p
that's someone trying to tie the bad omikuji on jasmine's hair
mega mcmuffins, i miss you :)
cool board showing the route from tokyo to the narita airport

that's all for photos from my handphone :D

|～キア～| a.simple.girl.in.this.complicated.world
6/28/2009 01:32:00 am

Friday, June 26

[BBS GRAD TRIP]

mah i figured i should post something about the japan trip!
i had so many things running through my mind when i came back
but couldn't decide what to say (you can say i was lazy too, haha)
so in the end, there was no update.
and then i took a look, omg the last entry was in May
its gonna be july soon!

so i spent ~~last~~ ~~last last~~
LAST LAST LAST night trying to organize all the photos for one entry
i thought i could say i only have one collage for one city
but it turned out to be so much more than that :)
so be expected to see 82 collages in this entry :)
i tried my best :D

NAGOYA
guide for the city: miss wee :)

sendoff at the airport on night of 26th may
flight was delayed for an hour due to last minute change of plane
we suspect that wasn't even A380 we took o.O
arrived in tokyo about 7am in the morning
after exchanging our JR pass, we were on our way to Nagoya! :)

first up on the itinerary was Toyota museum
one word to summarize: LOST
couldn't find the museum at all cos we were on the wrong track
ended up walking ALMOST to the town called Toyota
so we decided to stroll around and had curry rice for dinner
while trying to see the lit up TV tower

on our way back to the hotel
we passed by this shop that sells lots of things
you name it, i think they have it
and so started the series of unglam pictures xD
not my type of entertainment, as you can see, haha :D

day two in nagoya was paying a visit to the nagoya castle
qi da wanted to steal the golden fishes so we wouldn't have to worry about expenses
but as the pulling weight game proves, we are too weak to move the gold
so we gave up on the idea and just took a photo with the (fake) fish :)

stopped by the kannon temple and the flea market beside it
but there wasn't much to buy so we proceeded to the next location
it was a shopping street!
a very (price) friendly shopping street :)
we had yummy noodles for lunch before heading back to the hostel
(i think that was what we did, haha xD)

after resting, watching tv, uploading photos, munchkins
we headed out again
kx and qi da decided to be hip like the japan teenagers and wear uneven jeans o.O
it lasted about 1 minute, haha.
and we were in matching clothes! :)

after chionging the supermarket before it closes at 7pm
we found some munchies for dinner
proceeded to mister donuts which was having 100yen promotions!
i love the lion head donut, don't know the name but its YUMMY!
i saw (a poster of) miura haruma, haha :)
and the first 100yen shop action begins!
miss wee and miss er bought eye lashes which was the no1 item in the shop :)
and thus ended the nagoya trip :D

KYOTO
guide for the city: xinwei :)

day one activity was a visit to the imperial palace in kyoto
i am confused by all the castle and palace, what's the difference?
anyway, we signed up for an english tour
but it was such a big group, i can hardly hear the guide say anything
and we weren't allowed into most of the buildings
nonetheless, it was a pretty place

left searching for the manga museum
we had a choice between the manga and costume museum
i imagined that the manga museum would be filled with manga figurines
and history of popular manga, with lots of manga-like furnishings
but in the end, it was only a library
slightly disappointed
although there were lots of manga there, we did not have time to read them
and japanese characters take a long time to digest
they shouldn't call it a museum, its really a library o.O
ms wee, kx and jasmine found some entertainment in a colouring contest :)
i love the stamps that they provide in places of attractions
so that we can collect them as we travel from place to place :)

after we left the museum, i was so hungry we went in search of MAC!
and it was the happiest discovery of mine in japan, haha
100yen mcpork and mcshake!
we passed by another museum and bought postcards
and then proceeded to buy dinner back to our ryokan :)
had onigiri and cup noodles for dinner
with my milk tea of course :DD
it was our first encounter with public bath in japan
and we were so traumatised that we kept screaming
luckily the bath was on B1 or the owner would have more things to dislike us about
HAHA :p

day two in kyoto was to a shrine!
it was very crowded there and we saw couple in traditional costume :)
and so we requested a photo :D
the most famous activity there was the 姻缘石
it is said that if you can walk from one stone to the other with your eyes closed
you have found the right one, is going to find the right one :)
everyone was excited to try it out, not my kind of entertainment too
haha, a photo with the stone is good enough for me :)

next place of attraction is a shrine too, and it houses the golden pavillion :D
the one that always appear on geo challenge! haaha.
it looks very pretty when viewed across the lake :)
as kiaying was out of job then, i decided to burn 2 candles
which is to find employment and family safety :)

we love 顺路 photos :)

food hunt along a market street
where jasmine developed an interest in mini-hats o.O
we found yummy takopachi! :D
bought cheap bentos back to our ryokan for a bento dinner :)
looks pretty and expensive on the photo ya, its cheap bento really :D
played some asshole daidee before resting for the night
i forgot what was the super funny thing that had us all laughing like mad xD

before leaving for osaka, we sent out our postcards
mine was addressed to myself :)
haha, nothing important to send, i just want the japan postage stamp, lol.

OSAKA
guide for the city: mr neo

because osaka was the city widely influenced by the H1N1 flu
we decided to put on our masks on the train there
haha, in the end we realize no one was wearing masks
and i couldn't stand the heat from wearing masks
so we removed it upon reaching osaka, lol :)

first stop to the nissin instant noodle museum!
its a very fun and interactive place, one of my favourite visits in japan :)
at this museum, we get to see the history of nissin instant noodles
how it's produced and the variety of noodles available
its like nissin science center xD

and then we also get to sample nissin cup noodles dispensed from a vending machine
there are some limited edition flavours
but i went to choose the curry cheese flavour
not knowing that it was available everywhere
but it was YUMMY! so nice that i bought some back to singapore

and then we proceeded on to the next activity
which was to make our own personalised nissin cup noodles
we were each given a cup to draw and design on
and then it was sterilised and the noodle is added in
we get to choose our own flavour and four other ingredients
and then it was packed and ready to be taken home! :)
mine says kiaying's yummy cup (noodles), haha.
its a cheese curry flavour noodle with hiyoko-chan, crabmeat and prawns!

dinner was again bento but at the roadside this time!
haha, attracted stares from passing by japanese
went to the floating garden for some night view sightseeing
didn't pay to go up to the highest level but it was enough for us :)
we found an interesting place at the basement of the building
which has streets that are dressed like the olden days
so we cam-whored abit before leaving the building :)

day two in osaka was an exciting day for me!
haha, my biggest dream (well maybe second biggest) is to visit a johnny's shop
biggest dream being to attend a NEWS/tegomass concert
or meeting massu in real life!
hahaha, okay i have too many biggest dream
anyway, we set off for the osaka castle and planned to just see it from the outside
and on the way, we passed by the osaka-jo hall
which tegomass will be having their first ever concert on 22nd july!!!
oh my, i am 2 months too early to meet massu, haha.
dreams come true were having their concert tours
we also saw koda kumi and dong bang shi ki's concert lineup on the schedule
we met a really nice obaasan who kept offering to help us take photos
she knew all the right angles to capture the castle :)

and because we had no money, we attempted to enter the castle by climbing their wall!
haha.

because my directions were unclear, we took a long time to find the johnny's shop!
no one seems to know johnny's shop, and the place is just a mess
when we finally saw the shop, it was more of a relief, haha.
i received my job offer in the johnny's shop!
i am going to believe that johnny's bless me, haha :)
bought some massu photos, arashi and aiba photos for my sis
considered buying the NEWS calendar, decided not and left the place
they found more entertainment at a 400yen shop
and played cross dressing :D
i was busy admiring my newly acquired photos :D

we were supposed to go to this food theme park in dotonburi
but it looks suspiciously quiet to us.
after xinwei read the very long notice on the door
we realised that it closed down in march 2009, what bad luck!
there goes our most-looked-forward-to-activity of the day.
so we settled for takopachi and cheap sushi and okonomiyaki along the streets
strolled down the streets and made our way back to the hostel.

I LOVE OSAKA! :D

FUKUOKA/NAGASAKI
guide for the city: six-day-a-week jasmine

next city up is fukuoka!
we checked into khaosan hostel, which was bad cos our room was very small!
constantly banging into each other, haha.
the common room wasn't friendly too, one of the reasons i don't like it
plus it was under renovation and very far from the station!
checked out the yahoo! dome, which is a practising ground for fukuoka's baseball team
we happen to chance on a match, but didn't have the money to go watch :D
roamed about the shopping centre and saw pretty cakes on display
they were graduating works of some students, very nice! :)

proceeded to a man-made beach in fukuoka
the water was cooling and the breeze was great!
we spent a lazy afternoon at the beach and took photos with a pillar
hahaa, i think i almost died laughing at the photos that came out
we had a floating body, a superman and a dancer doing a split!
haha, and also the 千手观音 :)

wanted to have dinner at fukuoka's famous roadside stalls
we heard there were over hundreds over a river
but when we got there, it was a miserable ten?
and they were super expensive, so we didn't eat any kebabs in the end
only shared two bowls of very expensive (and disgusting) ramen
went searching for more food at other restaurants
and we found a very good shop that sells tasty mapo tofu!
even daigo visited the shop before :D
haha, he seems to be all over japan, saw his autograph quite a few times

travelled a short distance to nagasaki the next day
we were given first class seats in the green car! damn shiok
the car looks so pretty, it doesn't look like a train :)
after checking in at our hostel, the akari hostel
we were strolling around the area which is famous for its spectacle bridge
it is said to be the first bridge that uses this design
and you can see a pair of spectacles when combined with the image in the river

dinner was sushi again, i really love the sushi in japan
as you can see, the sashimi fully covers the rice and spreads over the plate!
unlike the miserable piece you see in singapore's restaurants
love the toro sushi! its a fatty kind of salmon which melts in your mouth
*drools*
watched "ima, ai ni yukimasu" back in the hostel
its so touching, we all started tearing
the little boy is sooooo cute :DDD

went for a walk with a nagasaki local the next morning
his name is yusuke, or youscare as jasmine calls him, haha.
oh i just realised he's nowhere in the collage
but you can visit our facebook photos for his picture :D
he brought us to a wet market, which was already closing by the time we reached
and then to a shrine nearby our hostel
there's also a mini zoo next to the shrine.
and then it was byebye to yusuke and back to our hostel

left for dejima island in the afternoon
but not before stopping by shops for some quick shopping
i love uniqlo and the 100yen shop in nagasaki!
i kept having the impression that dejima is an island but its not, haha.
it used to be an island where foreign traders who came to japan stayed
because japan wanted to control the influx of foreign religion
and so it was a place that housed and entertained the foreign merchants
quite an interesting place to visit
we played some games that they used to play and visited their houses
and entertained ourselves with photo taking :)

we had takopachi and chanpon, a nagasaki delicacy for dinner
it's something like our prawn noodle but in soup form and had lots ingredients
nagasaki and fukuoka was in many ways similar to china and south east asia
as they were the cities that were closest to china
and there were many china students living in these cities
went to mount inasa at night for a night view of nagasaki :)
we spent 1200yen for the cable up to mount inasa

we filmed a 世界那么大 video on top of mount inasa
and spent the night on the mountain watching the sunset
although all we could see were fog, haha.
when it started to get cold, we made our way down the mountain
but not before kaixiang and qi da "broke up" at their self imaginery 绝缘石
hahaa.

HIROSHIMA
guide of the city: yeo qi da

what's next! its hiroshima
one of my favourite cities from the japan trip :)
it not only has tasty food, it also has a rich history and very clean streets!
most of all, it is a city all about peace :)
we checked into hana hostel
which won our instant thumbs up due to the lift service
since we lived on the 5th (4th?) floor, we made full use of the facility, haha
ate hiroshima-famous-okonomiyaki at the train station
it was a very big portion and there was a long queue
being typical singaporeans, we joined the queue, haha.
it was really good, i love the udon in the okonomiyaki
when we were leaving, the queue was still there :)

first destination in hiroshima was the mazda museum tour
although i had zero interest in cars, car parts, car engines, car models
it was still a very educating trip and i actually think mazda cars are quite cool
especially the yellow one :DD

there was an introduction to the history of mazda
including the different car models and how each engine developed
we were also shown how the cars were being built from scratch
and the various procedures of tests being carried out
and then we were brought to view the production line
where car parts were being installed

i was particularly interested in the new car models
which has its doors open upwards and not outwards
its so seamless that we can't even find the door without the person telling us
its totally a batman car, haha.
makes me think that cars are so going through a revolution in the near future :)
well, i am still a taxi person as opposed to cars :D

after a rest in the hostel, we are going to a matsuri!
too bad yukatas were so expensive, i really wanted to dress up and go...
on the streets, everywhere we turned, we saw pretty girls dressed in yukata
their hair and make up nicely done up
but nonetheless, we kept ourselves happy by spending all our fund money on food
haha, what else to do during a matsuri :)

we saw a group of obaasan dancing to sekai ni hitotsu dake
so we joined in the mass dance :)
but it started to drizzle soon so we had to stop and disperse
the streets were filled with people
and despite the drizzle, many performances still went on
after hanging round for a while, we headed back to the hostel.

day 2 in hiroshima, we visited the miyajima island :)
deers were a common sight on the island.
we were warned by qi da that they would attack you if you carry paper on your hands
and we witnessed a group of deers trying to snatch a bag away from a school kid
so dangerous!
and so we became wary of the deers :X

on our way to the shrine, we saw people selling grilled oysters
and decided to try some
the oysters are so fresh! its really tasty.
the uncle selling the oysters said he has heard of singapore
and commented that he saw on tv that smoking was not allowed in singapore
haha.

the road to the temple was full of temptation
and everyone bought honey to bring home at a shop
spending a total of almost 10000yen, haha.

finally we reached the shrine
miyajima island is viewed as a sacred island in japan because an emperor named it to be
a shrine was built near the shore
the shrine is a UNESCO world heritage site (read more here)
the shrine would be submerged in the water during high tide
too bad we went during the low tide, would love to see the shrine in the water :D
but well, we get to walk up to the torii and get a close up look :)

returned to hiroshima station for a hearty lunch of oden :)
its something like taiwan's 关东煮
oh but taiwan's 关东煮 is named after a japan food too, haha :)

visited the hiroshima A-bomb peace park
the building is one that is left standing
after the atomic bomb turned everything within 20km into ashes
because it is directly under where the atomic bomb exploded
i used to think that the atomic bomb is what ended the WWII
and so its something necessary
but this visit shows so much of the other side of the story
innocent people were killed, more were affected for life
the building serve not as a memory for hatred to be passed on
but for us to remember that peace is such a precious thing
and the disaster that atomic bombing causes
i wouldn't say i changed my mind about that a-bomb that ended the war
but i definitely would not approve of such a thing being used again.
think about the children of tomorrow.

and dinner was home cooked food for the night :D
with gyoza!
i am a hungry tourist who ate a bowl of kimchi ramen and an onigiri :)
tried to play monopoly in our very small and crowded room, haha :)

travelled to okayama the next day.
we checked into matsunoki ryokan which provided free breakfast the next morning
there was supposed to be dinner too but it was a sunday so there was no dinner :(
after putting our things, we left for korakuen
which was a very pretty garden! :)
saw jelly fishes in the river on our way :D

took alot of photos in the garden as the weather was good
and the scenery was pretty.
there was a bamboo forest, a tea plantation and lots of flowers in the garden :D
qi da was excited about his cranes, which were supposed to be of rare species
but they look normal to me :p

i was more interested in the black castle!
it looks very grand on the outside as it is not the usual green colour
we left behind BBS footprints in the castle grounds, haha :)
and sat by the river for a relaxing day in okayama :)

HAKONE/YOKOHAMA/TOKYO
guide for the city: MEE!

although the cities does not really require a guide
because its all about shopping and more shopping :D
anyway, we left for hakone after a very sumptous breakfast at matsunoki
it was a LOOOOOOONG journey to hakone.
we took a 4 hour train from okayama to shin-yokohama
and then took a short ride to odawara station
from there, we took another train to hakone yumoto station
and then changed to a bus which took us up the mountain to our resort
by the time we reached ichinoyu resort, it was about evening time already
and the bus ride up cost us 1000 over yen :X

went about sightseeing before dinner was served.
in hopes that we can catch a glimpse of mount fuji but no luck :p
we took jumping photos and age photos. lol.
it was a very pretty scenery on the mountain coupled with fresh air :)

dinner was served at 6pm
WOW IT WAS A SPREAD!
the food kept coming non-stop and they were yummy :)
i love their tofu, it has a texture that i find very very nice :D
there were meat, noodles, egg, salad, soup, etc etc!
and we also pre-ordered a fish at 2000yen when we booked the resort
its not that WOW but it tastes not bad :D
after the extremely full dinner, we played some games
and waited for it to be our turn to use the private onsen :)

the private onsen was small pool on the outside of the building
although not the most pretty, but is what our budget allowed us to enjoy :)
me and xinwei also tried out their public bath the next morning
the water temperature is ohmygod HOT.
and that's a picture of a public bath where you sit on stools to bath :p

woke up next morning to yet another wonderful breakfast :)
xinwei kena tau-pok because she went back to nua after a bath
haha.
packed our bags and got ready for another long journey down the mountain.

took a train down to yokohama
where we booked a hostel in place of the capsule hotel we originally wanted
the hostel looks okay on the first and third floor
but according to the guys, the second floor looks creepy
haha, its renovating but looks okay to me mah :)
we proceeded to the yokohama attraction, the ramen museum
it houses the best ramen from different parts of japan
and the interior of the museum is decorated such that it resembles the 60s
it looks really pretty.
and they have people dressed up as different roles in the museum
such as the station master, the grandpa who is the owner of a shop
and his grand daughter, all the characters have names and ages attached to them
i saw those paper planes that i used to play with when i was young
those styrofoam ones that came in a pack and you can assemble them
very nostalgic!

chose one stall that had the longest queue
the ramen taste good but it was too salty and oily for me
but still it tastes better than the one we had in fukuoka
walked around in the museum for a while and left for the next place :)

i had many places planned for yokohama
but the factory outlet seems like a more worthy place to visit than shopping streets
damn, was i wrong!
we could afford nothing except mcpork at the outlet stores, haha
japan outlet prices means normal/expensive to us
moreover there was an irritating fish stench at the port
we couldn't even enjoy some sea breeze, yucks.

it was in yokohama that i bought my burberry's wallet!
so happy with the buy :D
so now i am no longer a fake burberry owner, haha :X
and that was 16000yen gone :X

next on my itinerary was a visit to Queen's square
where there is a futuristic town being built
it looks super pretty on my information
but as we passed by the place, it looks like any other city area :p
finally we were more interested in the ferris wheel than anything else
back to our hostel for some cup noodles and onigiris
the 4 minute hot water bath was exciting, haha
its the first hostel that requires us to pay 100yen for 4 minutes of water
but we realise that 4 minutes were more than enough
if we switch off the water while using the soap
its a good way to encourage saving of water
and also prevents people from hogging the bathroom
so i grew to like this idea :)

and the next morning, we woke up to a western breakfast
provided free by the hostel :)
the original bad impression for this hostel became more and more distant
haha, the egg was yummy!
we left for tokyo after that.
finally we are back in the city we started with :)
checked into mercure hotel
our second hotel for the trip and it was so C-O-M-F-O-R-T-A-B-L-E!
its great not having to lay your own sheets when checking into a room :D

and because of my biasness, i wanted to make a trip to ebisu garden
we were all there to view the beer museum
but actually i just wanted to visit the famous landmark
where doumyoji waited for makino in the rain! :DDDD
but the beer museum was very fun too
there was a short film screened using video and props merged together
and it looks wonderful
like beer from the video would be shown pouring into a jug which is a 3D prop
damn cool.
and we also got to taste some beer cos kaixiang bought the sample set :D

yeay i made it to the ebisu garden park
and STAR SIGHTING NARIMIYA HIROKI!
not that i like him a lot, but omg he's the first japanese star i ever saw
loved his role in bloody monday alot :)
we proceeded to harajuku next :D
where i planned to stalk massu, haha :)

we had BUFFET!! WOOHOO :DD
pasta tasted like heaven to us, because we were so deprived in japan.
had lots of pasta, pizza, potato salad and ice cream :)
all for only 1050yen which is about $15, very worth it!
kaixiang couldn't join us cos he was still full from his beer set :p
combed harajuku and managed to buy a RUSS K shirt
and sent out a postcard to hoifai, i wonder if he received it
bought one more uniqlo shirt and skirt before leaving the place

and then we proceeded to the next place in shinjuku
its a government office building which allows free view of tokyo's scenery
the corner which had the best view of tokyo tower was a restaurant
i feel so cheated.
spent some money on capsule machines even though i was broke
and left with 3000yen :p
watched some nakamaru doing bungee jump on CTKT before going to sleep :D

woke up at 4am in the morning to visit the tsukiji fish market
have been looking forward to the sashimi since the beginning of the trip
but dammit it was raining.
so miss wee decided to give it a miss, since she doesn't like raw food too
the fish market was a walkable distance from our hotel
the sky was bright at 5am and the fish market was bustling with activity
we managed to make it in time to watch the bidding
but it was so confusing
i couldn't make out who's the buyer and who's the seller
and what they were doing, i gave up :X
there was a lane specially opened up for visitors
so as not to interrupt the bidding process
kaixiang was amazed at how they can turn a fish market into a tourist attraction
haha.
next we went in search of sashimi!
we settled for the cheaper sashimi-don which costs about 1000++yen
as opposed to sushi which is about 3000yen
ordered a salmon and toro don, the toro was quite different from others i ate
and the servings were so huge that i got sick of them towards the end
lucikly it was still bearable for me
too bad no pictures were allowed :/

i wanted to visit odaiba, the rainbow bridge and the fuji tv station
but due to the rain, i had to give up this part of the plan
I WILL BE BACK, ODAIBA! :DD

we headed back for a short nap
and then went out shopping for souvenirs
as i was completely broke by then, i was just following them around :p
we were in search of 100yen shops
but find that they were almost non existent in tokyo
we stopped by shibuya and then harajuku again
before we finally saw a daiso branch there.
bought some more souvenirs and shopped around the unofficial johnny's shops
proceeded to shinjuku for more shopping
and then finally back to our ginza hotel

friday morning was a DELICIOUS meal of mega-mcmuffins!
have been wanting to eat that since i saw it on the menu
had breakfast on the narita express towards narita airport
jasmine will be starting work at bnp and kaixiang at ubs :)
all the best! :)

7 hours later, we were lugging our bags and heading home from the changi airport
and that's the end of our grad trip :)
i really had lots and lots of fun
it cannot be put down into words, nor do i remember every single detail
but i will always remember the feelings of happiness we share on the trip
i am sure that everytime i see a familiar scene of japan
BBS will be the first to jump to my mind :)
thanks for the wonderful experience
and may everyone have a smooth career ahead :)

PS:
this is the end of my entry.
i spent 3 nights writing it, now i am so dead tired.
please pardon any grammar mistakes and photo errors.

|～キア～| a.simple.girl.in.this.complicated.world
6/26/2009 03:48:00 am

your life with one of SHINee member
Name / Username
Your Partner Is	Onew
Where Did You Meet	At a restaurant
What made him fall in love with you	your sincereness
How did he announce that he had fallen for you:	kissed u under the moon at a romantic beach
What kind of nickname he calls you	your actual name with his own slang
How did he propose to you	decorate your room with beautiful blinking lights with a banner written WOULD U MARRY ME?

This cool quiz by meyyen - Taken 675 Times.